♪ ♪ good day. i'm chris jansing live at msnbc head quarters in new york city. up raffling the motive of an accused killer. the suspect accused of gunning down the united health care ceo was never insured by that company. so what led to the moment the trigger was pulled? there are some new clues today, including how he eluded police for days, not taking the route investigators first thought he did. plus, the growing alarm of those mystery drones in new jersey. the fbi says those blips in the sky aren't what they seem, so what are they? and we're trakin dangerous arctic blast in the eastern u.s., leading to scenes like this one when a truck slammed into a fire engine in michigan, and lake-effect snow and mind numbing temperatures

are creating misery for millions. so much to get to on a friday, but we begin with new clues that could help answer a key question of the murder of a united health ceo, why. there is no indication that luigi mangione was ever insured by united health care, even though he had a life altering injury that caused extreme pain and ultimately led to surgery. instead, investigators believe mangione may have targeted ceo brian thompson simply as the head of one of the largest corporations in america. two top nypd officials say they know mangione took a different route out of manhattan than they first believed, followed by multiple stops in pennsylvania, allowing the suspect to elude the dragnet for more than five days. since his arrest, more than $75,000 has poured into mangione's defense fund, with police officials raising new concerns there could be copy cat violence because of the online

rhetoric surround thing case. >> this incident has created a torrent of online reactions, many of which cross over into a more uncomfortable realm of territory that we would think of as closer to threats. this is exactly what we mean when we talk about a contagion effect, that all of the foment you're seeing online is meant to instill fear. >> nbc's george scolis is reporting to us. and john has written two books about health care in america. and with me here onset, danny sovalis. to say the least, danny, the attention around this case has been enormous. opinions flooding the internet. but the lawyer who is actually defending mangione has filed a

petition for a writ of habeas corpus. so tell us what that is, and the importance of what he's trying to accomplish here as a defense attorney. >> here's the lead -- he will lose. mangione will be returned to new york. under pennsylvania law and law in most of the states, it is a constitutional requirement to extradite someone like mangione to the requesting state. the only other outcome is that governor shapiro himself could, under the law, decide i want to keep him because he have independent pennsylvania charges against him, and then new york can have him after we're done. that is never going to happen. yes, he filed a petition for habeas corpus, a challenge to the detention of a person that's used in many contexts. this is just one sliver using it in extradition. they will lose. all the government has to show is that is he mangione? was he in new york at the time of the shooting? has he been indicted in new york? even that evidence, the strict rules of evidence won't apply at any hearing. it will essentially be someone

reading from a piece of paper and off mangione goes. >> why is he doing it? >> because the client -- if i'm reading between the lines, the client wants to fight, and the attorney says if he wants to fight, that's what i'm here to do. even the language of the petition is saying mangione was definitely not in new york at this time. they're just saying, prove it. okay, once that's done, the government will march into court and prove that relatively quickly, i expect. and then he will be returned to new york. it is a certainty. this is not his defense team. this attorney, i can almost guarantee, will not be part of the defense team when he gets to new york. he is a defense attorney in altoona. they're going to hire a big shot attorney here in new york. >> investigators in new york and pennsylvania are continuing to build their cases, george. what more are we learning about the newest evidence? >> reporter: yeah, chris, good to be with you. on that timeline here at the

courthouse, we expect luigi mangione on the 23rd and 30th of august for the charges he faces here, but that continuation of the fight for extradition. as far as the timeline, sitting down with top brass yesterday just going over the timeline. we know according to investigators, they're saying they thought initially that luigi mangione arrived -- they said say he arrived in new york ten days before the shooting of brian thompson and that he was at the george washington bridge hopping on a bus and heading back down south. we have some new reporting from them saying it looks like he may have hopped on a subway headed back down towards penn station and getting on a train and coming to philadelphia for a while. then maybe even pittsburgh before ultimately his apprehension here in altoona, pennsylvania. i want to play a little of that dialogue between the top brass. take a listen. >> we've recovered five

fingerprints that match our suspect from the water bottle that was recovered. two finger prints from an energy bar wrapper. we have the ballistics that come back to that firearm. we still have some dna that was recovered from a phone. we do not have a comparison sample yet to compare his dna to what we recovered but that will happen. >> there was a phone found in that alleyway. were you able to get into snit >> it's currently still being worked on. >> reporter: chris, obviously that phone's going to be a big crucial piece of evidence. there was also that bag discovered in central park which had that monopoly money. we'll see how that factors into all this. we have the pages of writing that's a manifest ore.o. all part of that iron clad case they're trying to build before

issuing the formal indictment. >> danny, we know more about the hours and days after allegedly mangione shot the health care executive. investigators, though, say he had gone silent for months. his mother was looking for him, his friends didn't know what happened to him. how important is it to fill in that timeline? >> it will be important, especially that they want to demonstrate motive, that this was calculating. they may use this evidence to say he went dark on purpose because he was putting together this plan to assassinate brian thompson. >> it may be even more important for the defense, if they say, for that six months, this was a guy who was struggling with pain, he was posting about it online. i wonder who it might be more important for. >> yes, if we're talking about an insanity or diminished capacity defense, as this

evidence builds, only fewer and fewer possibilities remain, and if it is going to be some form of diminished capacity, insanity defense, you have to admit to the underlying conduct. you're saying i did it but because i have this mental illness. the other thing to know since the '70s and '80s, the insanity defense has fallen very much out of favor. it's much rarer than tv would have you think. it is a huge risk if you elect to go in that direction. >> whatever the motive, jonathan, mangione has touched a they have been when he shouted to reporters before his first court appearance, seemingly to have some desire to talk about a need for change. i wonder what, given your back ground, all that you have written, what you make of the way this has unfolded, and how much, to the consternation of law enforcement, has this given voice to dissatisfaction with the system? >> yeah, to the consternation of law enforcement, and we live in

a society of laws and we don't want people shooting ceos or anybody who works for an industry just because it's part of a deeply dysfunctional health care system and part of an industry that treats a lot of people poorly. so starting with that point, it might surprise that this is the reaction? i'm not. insurance companies for a lot of people are the face of denial. they are the bureaucrats that tell you that you can't get this treatment. and you can't see this doctor. now, if you talk to the insurance industry, they will tell you we are part of this complex health care system. we're trying to hold down costs. sometimes doctors and hospitals want to charge too much. there's a lot of waste in the system, and that is all true. what is also true is that, you know, there's a lot of evidence that a lot of these decisions they're making are not being made because it's good for the patient or it makes the system more efficient. it's a way that they see an easy way to make more money at the expense of patient good.

in so far as we could have a better system, we could imagine what a better system could look like. but one of the reasons we don't have a better system is that for 100 years, we've been trying to create a national health insurance system like other countries. it's very hard to do that. one of the reasons is it's hard is that the health care industry fights it and the insurance industry has been among those opponents preventing a better system being put in place. >> ceo of united health group wrote an op-ed in "the new york times" saying, they get it, that no one would design a health care system like the one we have. but do you think there really is a chance that this outrage, that this conversation sparks where it matters a serious discussion, and maybe at least the beginnings of a change? >> i mean, it's always hard to know. politics is so unpredictable. we've had debates like this before. we had a similar one in the late

'90s. people my age, you may remember a movie called "as good as it gets" which the actress screams about an hmo denying coverage to a child. all over the country, audiences applauded and there was a debate about reining in the insurance company. where i do think it's helpful, if it does build awareness that our health care system has lots of problems and we need to fix it, that can morph into a broader confidence about how do we create a more intelligent system that's fair to everyone and gets people care when they need it? now, if that conversation takes place, the question for the insurance industry and everybody else in the health care industry is, okay, now we're having this conversation, we want to make things better, whose side are you on, the side of making things better or keeping it the way they are because it's good for your because?

>> thank you all. in 90 seconds, donald trump says syria is not our fight but could become his first big foreign policy test. we're live in damascus after this. in damascus after this man: i don't about y'all, but when it comes to working from home, i gotta have every part of my house clean. that means tidying up, then spraying my febreze air mist, to leave every room smelling fresh and clean. with that done, it's time to get to work. ♪ la la la la la on medicare? living with diabetes? progress is having your coffee like you like it. the freestyle libre 3 plus sensor is covered by medicare for more people managing diabetes with insulin. this is progress. ask your doctor today. ♪♪ chase really knows how to put the hart in your local community. see what i did there? hey, jackie! (♪♪) evan, my guy! you're helping them with savings, right? (♪♪) i wish i had someone like evan when i started. somebody just got their first debit card! ice cream on you? ooo, tacos!

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transition of power today, during meetings with middle east leaders. >> as syria transitions from the assad dictatorship to hopefully a democracy, it does so in a way that, of course, protects all of the minorities in syria, that produces an inclusive nonsectarian government, and does not become in any way a platform for terrorism. >> syria will be an early challenge for the incoming president and trump's pick for secretary of state, marco rubio. "new york times" columnist thomas friedman writes, there is no country in the middle east that explodes more than syria. whatever happens in syria will not stay in syria. nbc's matt bradley is reporting from the syrian capital. peter baker is a chief white house correspondent. and with me here in studio, richard haass, president

emeritas and author of the newsletter "home and away." great to have all of you here. matt, secretary blinken was in turkey and iraq today and expected to visit jordan tomorrow. what do we know about those conversations and the transition that's underway where you are in syria right now? >> reporter: yeah, we're seeing that trip more diplomacy by antony blinken who has been to the middle east so many times in the past year and a half and now focused on syria. those countries are all bordering syria. that trip to iraq was a surprise. all of these meetings are focused on what is going on in this country, which was really, as far as we understand, it took the u.s. government and many governments throughout the world, including clearly the government of syria, the regime of bashar al assad very much by surprise with, within two weeks, rebels ousted the assad regime after about 50 years. so what we're seeing now is antony blinken trying to rally american allies and partners to make for a secure transition

here in syria. that is a major priority, consider thing is where islamic state was born during the revolutionary period here that lasted nearly 14 years. there were massive elements of al qaeda. this was a gateway through which many of the jihadis who went into iraq during the american occupation of iraq, passed over those borders teen between syri iraq to attack american troops there. so this is a potentially dangerous country, not just for the citizens but the entire region. that's why you're seeing all of these partners so involved in its fate. this is a complicated bit of diplomacy. for folks here on the ground, this wasn't complicated at all. there was huge celebrations across the city called for by the leader of the militant islamist rebel group that overthrew the dictator bashar al assad. we saw these celebrations throughout the city. i spoke with some people that

didn't really seem to see a lot of complications. they didn't have any fears about the future of this country. they laid all of the difficulties that they have endured on bashar al assad's feet and said that everything is going to be fine now, despite the fact that it is really islamists who are in charge with connections in the past to al qaeda. now that they have peace here in syria, there's a real desire for justice. just yesterday i was in a town in the southeastern part of damascus, just southeast of this capital city. i spoke with victims of a syrian gas attack from more than ten years ago. and here's what they had to say.

>> reporter: and i can tell you, chris, that the people here and throughout this country, they're looking to the international community for that justice and the united states, the incoming trump administration. >> thank you so much for that. so, serin gas in syria, this is what they admitted, to making 360 tons of mustard gas, five tons of the precursors to sarin. right now, it's not sure how much that exists, where it exists, right? is it hidden somewhere? is it possible to find it? what's the most efficient way to find it? that's just one, i think, element of what, you know, we're calling a complicated bit of

diplomacy here. >> yeah, sarin gas is one of the reasons israel is doing what it's doing is destroying some known stocks. but there's enormous amount of chemicals that are unaccounted for and we don't know if they're destroyed, hidden, gotten into the wrong hands. it's one of the 86 reasons as happy as we are to see the old regime go, it's a little soon to take out the champagne. this is one area you have the potential of terrorism in syria. you have the potential for civil conflict. we could go on and on. as hard as it is to oust a regime, it's actually harder to put something positive in its place. in some ways, the real struggle for syria is now only beginning. >> the question is who is going to take the lead on making it go in the right direction. we mentioned tom friedman's editorial in your paper. he suggested if marco rubio becomes secretary of state, as expected -- i'm sorry? did you say something?

okay. his job may be to persuade trump to abandon all of the isolationist america first, not sure we want to stay in nato, who cares about s-hole countries rhetoric that trump is known for. so you can help with, dare i say it, nation building in syria. that's tom friedman. but is there any indication, peter, that trump would consider serious u.s. involvement in what becomes of syria? >> no, not if history is a guide. in his first term, he tried mostly to get out of syria and turn it over to the turks and let them do what they wanted with the kurds, even though the kurds were our allies. this precipitated jim mattis' resignation. you saw in that social media post that president-elect trump put out a week or so ago, you know, that we should have nothing to do with syria. that suggests and understandable but not correct understanding of the situation, where some other country's problems are his

problems alone and not ours. that is something a lot of americans sympathize with. who cares about what other countries are having happen, when we have a lot happening in our country. we have now seen over the last 13, 14 years how syria and its collapse over that time has impacted for beyond its borders, all the way to europe. the migration crisis that has challenged european leaders is born, at least in part, out of the civil war we have seen in syria all of these years later. there's a reason why that israelis are going in and trying to take advantage of the moment, to get rid of these chemical stocks and get rid of syria's own military capacity, because they don't want the instability to lead to another enemy on their borders, and enemy stocked with weapons that could hurt them. so there are a lot of consequences to what is happening there for the united states, and particularly for the allies, both in the middle east and europe. >> and speaking of israel, the national security adviser jake

sullivan is in the at least, shuttling between israel, qatar, egypt, trying to get a gaza cease-fire and hostage deal done. now, nbc news is reporting, andrea mitchell is reporting that u.s. officials tell us that they are closer to a deal. they may be have never been closer to a deal that hamas has dropped some of its s demands. how optimistic that a deal can get done, but could it get done before joe biden leaves office? >> there's a little feeling of lucy and the football. it only takes one side to start a conflict, in this case hamas, but both to end it, israel and hamas. you have to have something both sides are prepared to live with. hamas seems to be willing to accept a limited israeli military presence around gaza for some time. hamas has come forward with a list of hostages and so forth. israel is prepared to release

palestinian prisoners inside israel. so yeah, i think there's a decent chance. i always thought, quite honestly, it would be more likely to happen after january 20th. i thought this might be something that the prime minister of israel would go for the 47th president rather than the incumbent. but i think at some point it will happen. the real question is what happens afterwards. do you set up a political process that would allow an international force to come into gaza. do you set up a diplomatic process that would allow some palestinian aspirations. we still got a long ways to go, but i would love to see those hostages home. >> i want to get a quick reaction about something we are seeing today. for the first time since his release from a russian prison, we saw a byline today in "the wall street journal," and it is an incredible piece of reporting profiling a secret russian spy agency behind the biggest campaign of internal repression

since the stalin era. very few people had ever heard of the department for counterintelligence operations. he says, it's responsible for his arrest along with other americans, we're talking about people like brittney griner, at a time some people expect to be in the cross hairs of the incoming administration. we heard from members of the potential administration attacking the journalism professor writ large. can we just take a moment, peter, and say how remarkable it is that while this reporter was being held in russia, he started an investigation that shed light on a group of people that few have ever even heard of? >> yeah, so great to see his byline back in the paper and him taking on this tough subject. you could easily see somebody having gone through what we gone through, retreating back to something that might seem safer and more, you know, mentally healthy. what he must have endured behind

bars all that time, it takes a toll on anybody. yet he's back in the hunt, saying journalism matters not just here but abroad and reminding people what russia is all about these days under vladamir putin. don't fool yourself into thinking they're our friend or that they are just, you know, another european country. they're not. as evan rightly, you know, tells us, they represent a different breed of cat that doesn't believe in the values that the west believes in, and shows it through the ies like this. so it's heartening to see him demonstrating the value of journalism at a time when people are questioning it. >> and reminding people that a free and fair press is in direct contradiction to what we're seeing from assad and in so much of the rest of the world and is being questioned here at home. >> you could have had thomas

jefferson here today instead of me, he would have said a free and fair press is the most important single safeguard for a democracy. that position was right then and right now, and one way we'll keep this democracy on the rails in the runup to the 250th anniversary to this country. one other thing about russia, what happened in syria is a reminder just how brittle these countries can be, particularly these personal regimes. what has putin done? he's wrecked institutions in russia, personalized rule. and the point i would suggest is, we should think of russia potentially as a brutal country. he nearly got overthrown not long ago. and our calculations about russia, we shouldn't necessarily assume that what we see today we will necessarily see tomorrow. >> richard, peter, thank you so much. coming up, what is that in

the skies over new jersey? why the fbi is now casting doubt on those mystery drones that have had so many lawmakers up in arms. we'll explain. l explain. experience leaks with bladder protection pads. try always discreet! it locks leaks in seconds to keep you drier and bunches 25% less often than poise. try always discreet! it's designed to protect.

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today, new concerns of mysterious drones being spotted over new jersey, as one senior official briefed on the matter told nbc that there were 79 reports of sightings just overnight in new jersey. while it's not clear if different people are reporting the same drone, this all comes amid widespread skepticism after the fbi and homeland security both said there's no evidence these drones pose a national security threat. both agencies, in fact, put out a written statement pretty much verbatim after this official white house explanation. >> we have no evidence at this time that the reported drone sightings pose a national security or a public safety threat, or have a foreign nexus.

the fbi are working with state and local law enforcement to provide resources using detection methods to better understand their origin. >> but new jersey lawmakers say that's not exactly what they were told at a state police briefing, which was that it isn't clear where the drones are coming from or who's operating them. one said, kirby is either not getting very good information, or he's not sharing what he knows. one headline reads, new jersey is freaking out, describing the myriad of lingering questions this way. are these objects being sent from an alleged foreign adversary to spy on the evidence dealings of the people of new jersey, or is marvin the martian gearing up to use his q-36 space mojlator? nobody seems to know. all of that leaves the question, will the fbi and dhs have a more

specific answer then, no security threat? i want to bring in retired general barry mccaffrey, here with me onset nbc's marquis francis, who has been covering this story for us. so let's just start, we have the new numbers of the number of folks who said they spotted something overnight. but what do we actually know at this point? >> yeah, chris, what we all know is that there are more questions that remain than answers. we know what the white house said. they feel this is not a national security threat. we just heard it from kirby that he also believes this is not a threat and saying that the u.s. government does not have their own firsthand imagery of these drones, but based on a federal analysis of the imagery they do have, this is not a foreign threat. and what they're saying is, they do not believe this is the hobbyist type of drone. this is not the type of drones you go into best buy and get and they're able to see over top of football games or sporting events. these are commercial grade

drones, six feet in length, possibly small cars, flying for hours at a time. and also when authorities in new jersey have sent up their own drones to try to get a better look at these drones, these drones have been able to elude them. so there's a lot of questions there. 21 mayors in new jersey have sent a joint letter to state officials asking them for answers. of course, you have state officials asking federal authorities for answers. we have seen these drones as far north as new york, pennsylvania and maryland. the governor of maryland said he saw dozens of drones last night right outside of his home. >> governor hogan said that? >> he said, like many who observed these drones, i cannot know if this increasing activity over our skies is a threat to the public safety or national security, but the public is growing concerned and frustrated with a complete lack of transparency and the dismissive

attitude of the federal government. the government has the ability to track these from their point of origin, but has mounted a negligent response. people are rightfully claimering for answers but respect getting any. we're being told that neither the white house, the military, the fbi or homeland security have any idea what they are, where they come from, or who has launched or is controlling them, and that they pose no threat. that response is entirely unacceptable. and the governor lives in davidsonville, maryland, about 25 miles outside the nation's capital. >> all right, general, i'm listening to what governor hogan has to say, using words like lack of transparency, negligence, dismissiveness, unacceptable. what do you think is going on here? >> well, i'm sympathetic to the governor. what we also know, by the way, norad did an examination of the evidence at hand and it's not a u.s. military operation. it's also clearly potentially

could be a security threat, of course. it might have bombs or surveillance equipment. but the largest issue, i think, chris, that we have to face up to, there's currently a patch work of laws the u.s. of defense is the only agency that has a massive fielding effort to deal with counterdrone technology and operating drones. we operate over 13,000 military drones, but they are not, by law, essentially involved in any way in domestic law enforcement. except possibly the right of self-defense. now, i think the other thing we have to take into account, it's not just new jersey, we had a massive threat a year ago at the langley air force day about classified material down there and never sorted out what it was. we did have one known chinese intelligence agent using

commercially bought drone technology for surveillance in the big naval base at hampton roads. so we need a little national consensus here, come one a new legal system. it's not going to be easy. you can't shoot them down as you would in ukraine. but things like massive drone swarms are now a fact of science, and we're going to have to deal with it in the coming years. jouz say you can't shoot them down, but that's pretty much what senator blumenthal is calling on. i want to play that. >> we have no idea where these drones come from, who owns them. we should doing some very urgent intelligence analysis, and take them out of the skies, especially if they're flying over airports or military bases. they should be shot down, if

necessary, because they're flying over sensitive areas. >> so, why can't they be shot down? >> well, i probably didn't say it the right way. we do have the capability. we're watching the ukraine/russian conflict very closely. they can be killed, there's a laser device to burn them, the gps device can be spoofed, they can be actively jammed and sometimes taken over control. all of these capabilities do exist and are easy to use in an open warfare environment. but trying to bring down a drone of unknown origin, which might be lawfully being operated. the faa doesn't even pretend that they can monitor the tens of thousands of drones that are up in the air at any given time. trying to shoot them down with a potential loss of life on the ground from a car-sized uav is

just not going to happen. so we need a national consensus, probably model state laws, prohibited air space, even the right to privacy. i mean, under 400 feet in theory, one could run a drone right over your house next to the window. we've got to sort this out. there's no consensus. but the reality of drone swarms is here, and they can be a lethal threat, and they definitely can be an intelligence collection device. >> we have not had the last discussion about this, i'm sure. thank you both so much. in the next hour, the mayor of one new jersey town joins us to talk about what he's been seeing in the sky, and his concern that it could indeed be a major security risk. a major s. it's your last chance to get iphone 16 pro, on us. and ipad and apple watch series 10. all three on us. only on verizon.

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there is new reporting that top trump ally elon musk has struggled to meet one of the basic rules of the irs, an agency by the way he wants to gut. "the new york times" reports that musk's charitable foundation fell $421 million short of the amount it was required to give away last year, meaning that he could be required to pay a sizable penalty unless he distributes that money. joining me now the reporter behind the story, "new york times" political correspondent teddy schleeper. good to see you. i don't think this is the first year this has happened, but what did you find out? >> yeah, this is a problem that

elon musk has been dealing with over the years, as his foundation has gotten bigger and bigger and he's taken in more and more money into his own personal bank account. i think he's been trying to deal with the issue of what do you do when you have too much of it? musk's foundation is not required to give away all of its money tomorrow. typically the way this works for people not following this, if you have $100 in your foundation, you have to give away 5% every year, so that's $5. you can make up for it next year if you don't give enough away in the existing year. but this is sort of what happens when you have a fortune that keeps rolling down the hill and more and more is coming in. >> we should all have such a problem. but, is it fair to tie it into his future role at the trump department of government efficiency, if he can't keep up with the money he needs to give away? >> i think the connection here

is that elon musk has been talking publicly and d.o.g.e. has been looking into this, possible defunding of the irs, which is the regulatory or legal body that oversees private foundations, such as the musk foundation. so it just so may happen that, you know, the irs could have less resources to go after precisely this type of mismanagement or misconduct. i'm not saying that's why elon musk is for having a weaker irs. we know elon musk's position on taxes and that elon has said he's made the largest private tax payments ever, so lots of reason why is elon musk would want a weaker irs, but this is one of them. >> let me ask you about meta ceo mark zuckerberg. he just donated a million to the trump inauguration after meeting with the president-elect at mar-a-lago. there are rumblings about other

tech ceos who are giving big bucks, as well. are they all going to fall in line and a lot of money going to the inaugural committee? >> look, the inaugural committee donations, as interesting as they are for news value, this is sort of a sideshow, right? every year, you know, companies that make hundreds of billions in revenue, you know, every four years, will toss a couple coins toward an inaugural committee. i think the contrast in 2016 that did not happen, there was a shell shocked feeling when trump won. in 2020, biden actually did not allow big tech companies to donate to the inaugural. but look, that's not going to do that much for these companies' standing in trump's washington. but it is true that there is almost a euphoria in silicon valley about the election of donald trump. you know, i was struck eight years ago tomorrow when all

those tech executives came to trump tower, if people remember that, and had that meeting with trump led by peter teal. not a lot of individual companies are trekking to mar-a-lago. we know that serge brennan, the long time leader of google was at mar-a-lago. mark zuckerberg was there just before thanksgiving. business is open, and if you want to be relevant in washington, with all these tech giants, you have to show up and kiss the ring. so that's what's happening right now. >> here's my conclusion. you don't have to be a tech billionaire to spread joy. your little tree is spreading a lot of joy. it's very charming. so we thank you for joining us, along with your celebratory ornaments. thank you so much. the consulting firm mckenzie and company, agreed to pay $650 million to resolve a federal probe into that company's role

in the ioid crisis, accusing them of conspiring with purdue pharma to increase sales of the painkiller oxycontin. so a former top partner will also plead guilty to obstruction of justice and the company will not work on the sale of a controlled substance for five years. still ahead, the big backtrack. what donald trump is saying now about his promise to bring down grocery prices. but first, absolutely brutal cold temperatures freezing the midwest and northeast right now, where we have seen windchills plummet as low as 30 and 40 below. asthma. does it have you missing out on what you love, with who you love? get back to better breathing with fasenra, an add-on treatment for eosinophilic asthma taken once every 8 weeks. fasenra is not for sudden breathing problems. serious allergic reactions may occur. get help for swelling of your face, mouth, tongue, or trouble breathing. don't stop your asthma treatments

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i've been showing up here for nearly 200 years. and i can't wait to see what's next. hats off to the future. nothing runs like a deere™ right now, the eastern half of the u.s. is grappling with the effects of another round of heavy lake-effect snow. conditions so bad in michigan, this box truck lost control on an icy interstate 94, slamming into a fire engine that was responding to another crash. and it's not just the snow, it has been bone chillingly cold, ice balls were spotted filling up this michigan beach. msnbc meteorologist bill cairns is here with me in studio. some places have seen wind chills of 30, 40 below. will it get better? >> it already is. this is the second time we've had the harsh outbreak of cold air. the coldest spots, fargo, northern minnesota, negative 7

and negative 5. yesterday they were negative 20 and negative 40. some of the cold wind chills over buffalo. new york city was cold this morning. not so bad now. as we look at the lake effect, it's beginning to end. this is north of oswego and north of syracuse. but some of these snow totals, even for western new york, are impressive. these happened in 36 hours. orchard park, 38 inches. barnes corner, 33 inches. but notice that buffalo only at two inches and erie at four. the next weather event taking place, we have the cold air. now the warm is coming in. we have an ice storm warning foresee for cedar rapids. we are expecting a glaze of ice. this is our first ice event we have had this winter season, so we're not used to driving on this or the glaze on the sidewalk. but up to a quarter of an inch

is possible around cedar rapids. that's enough for the weight on the branches we'll have power issues. we'll have to watch that south of waterloo. minneapolis, just a brief coating of ice for you. and chris, our friends on the west coast from a big storm. we're only 12 days away from christmas, and the weather pattern is going to get very active. a lot of storms. there's going to be a lot of storminess in the next week and a half. >> thank you, bill. still ahead, new reporting about the lawyer helping rfk big officials for the incoming administration and why he wants to revoke a vaccine that's protected millions for decades. s

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